end of the [long] road.

I have now been in Cali for a few days and have lots to report already-- but figure I should take it one adventure at a time! So I am going to back track to give the long road trip it's proper recognition.

Here are the photos of our last day on the road:

Enjoying a "Welcome to Cali" treat of caramel apple pops, courtesy of S. Kimball

We made it!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone & everything that made this 2,954 mile drive a success:

-My little red car, now affectionately named Roxanne (Roxy for short) for not breaking down, getting in any accidents, or getting us any speeding tickets along the way
-The 2011 road atlas, provided as a parting gift by Dan & Cathy Smith
-The highlighter marker provided by Dan Schlachtenhaufen, which we used to track our journey on said atlas
-The caffeine sources we consumed (sugar free red bull, diet coke, diet doctor pepper, sugar free non fat vanilla lattes from McDonalds, various Starbucks beverages)
-The snacks that kept us trucking (including but not limited to: Peeps' zucchini muffins, Pirates Booty, Fiber One bars, apples, cheesy rice cakes, almonds, and Swedish fish)
-The plethora of music & audio books recommended and provided to us by our awesome friends before our departure, and our iPods for trucking through
-Our wonderful hosts along the way (for providing us with lodging, food, and love)
-Everyone back home (and in my final destination) for the encouraging texts/facebook messages/emails/calls along the way
-And last but not least... Lindsay April Gonsman (my long time best friend) for being my driving buddy, laughing partner, night time driver extraordinaire, and book-on-tape explainer... and for just having the ability to keep me sane and calm. So glad to have experienced this all with you, and so happy that you were here to share my first fabulous weekend in LA.

I considered Labor Day Weekend still a part of my "vacation," so I have lots of fun stories that I promise I will get around to reporting... but right now it's back to unpacking and setting up my new room with Morgan (one of my college besties), who graciously came to LA from her home in Vegas to help me get settled. Have I mentioned enough how lucky I am to have such wonderfully generous friends?!

xxo.

Oh, ps! Special shout-out to Amber Usilton for being the first person to solve the Lindsay & Leigh Ann text-message trivia game during the last leg of our drive. You know us too well! Yes, everyone, that's how bored we were. :)